Things have not been anywhere near last season for the defending champions. South Carolina has gone from invincible to vulnerable, and the cracks in their armor are showing. Three extensive records have gone up in flames: UCLA snapped their 43-game win streak in November, Texas shattered their 57-game conference dominance just last weekend, and now, UConn has come for their fortress, ending a 71-game home win streak at Colonial Life Arena. It’s a rough look. But you know what? This might just be the best thing that could have happened to Dawn Staley’s squad.

Yes, the losses sting, there’s no sugarcoating that. That unbeatable aura is gone. But now they know exactly where they stand. No more illusions of invincibility, no more skating by on past dominance. The Gamecocks have been exposed, and that gives Staley a crystal-clear view of what needs fixing before March Madness rolls around. 

And you know she’s not one to sit back and let things slide.

ESPN’s Michael Voepel put it best. Staley knew what she was doing when she scheduled this late-season clash against UConn. Another SEC coach even questioned why she’d take that risk so deep into conference play. Why hand a team like UConn, from the “lightly regarded” Big East, a shot at taking down an SEC giant? But Staley had a bigger picture in mind.

She needed a reality check. “UConn is a reference point for how ready her team is for the NCAA tournament,” Voepel explained. A loss hurts in the moment, sure, but it’s a measuring stick. Basically, a way to gauge whether they can handle elite, offensively gifted teams. 

And, well, the answer on Sunday was not yet.

The Gamecocks already saw their offense struggle against Texas, and now, against UConn, their defense got absolutely shredded. If there were any doubts about where their weak spots were, they’re gone now. They’ve got film, they’ve got clarity, and—most importantly—they’ve got time to fix it.

Top Comment by bill cooke

You better never count out Dawn Staley. She has time to instill her Philly toughness into those kids. We have...more

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But, the obviously sad reality is SC doesn’t feel like THAT team anymore. Alexa Philippou pointed it out postgame. Staley hinted that something deeper might be at play. “Obviously… something else is going on that isn’t just about basketball,” she said. What that is she didn’t elaborate. But she did emphasize one thing: toughness. 

This team needs to find its identity again, needs to get back to doing what made them great in the first place. Because this season hasn’t just been about losing games. It’s been about how they’re losing. The flat-out embarrassments. 

Dawn Staley hands out an ‘F’ grade to her team

Despite the defeat, South Carolina is still in a solid position. They’re sitting at 23-3 overall, 11-1 in the SEC, and tied with Texas for the conference lead. If both teams keep winning, the SEC regular-season title will be split, with a coin flip deciding the No. 1 seed in the tournament. 

Not ideal, but not disastrous either.

However, the Gamecocks trailed behind Notre Dame, Texas, UCLA, Southern Cal, and UConn in the latest rankings, with LSU right behind at No. 7. The top seven teams have created some distance from the rest of the pack, and with only two weeks left in the regular season, every game is crucial.

And they can’t keep doing what they did in Sunday’s game. They got outshot from deep, dominated in the paint, outworked on hustle plays, you name it. But more than anything, it was their defense. And the head coach didn’t sugarcoat it after the defeat. 

When asked to grade her team’s effort, she deadpanned, “Since we’re on a higher education campus, ‘F.’” She made it clear they have to play better, they have to perform better. It’s not just about skill; it’s about effort, intensity, and pride. 

And while this season has already seen more losses than the last three combined, there’s still time to turn things around. South Carolina has four more games to close out the regular season, and they’ll need every single one to get back on track before the postseason. 

This week, they’ve got two crucial SEC matchups. First, they’ll host Arkansas at Colonial Life Arena on Thursday, February 20. Then, on Sunday, they’ll hit the road to face Vanderbilt in Nashville. The road ahead isn’t easy, but they have to find rhythm. The Gamecocks might not be invincible anymore, but don’t count them out just yet.